Differences between rich + poor countries

Water is taken for granted, even in times of water shortages it is rarely unavaliable on tap

Education is free and all have access to it

The more highly educated you are, the more highly paid job you are likely to end up doing

In the uk fewer than 5 children out of every thousand born die before their first birthday

In the uk, there is free access to local GP's and hospitals and drugs and other treatments are subsidised or free for children, elderly, pregnant mothers and those on low income

More people likely to have jobs and usually they involve higher skills and higher income as a result

Working conditions are monitored and controlled to ensure people are not mistreated or forced to work in dangerous conditions

In times of unemployment there is financial support and opportunities for training to get back into work

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Differences between rich + poor countries

Poor world

Food is scarce, difficult to come by and expensive.

Malnutrition is common, leading to disease

1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.6 billion do not have access to sanitation causing 2 million child deaths each year

Millions of women and girls spend hours collecting and carrying water

855 million people are functionally illiterate and 73 million children receive no primary education

In parts of India 15 in every thousand children die before their first birthday

In many poorer countries hospital provision is poor, so that travel to hospital may take days leading to a loss of earnings. Drug treatments must be paid for and so treatable diseases get worst

Many people have low- paid and low skilled jobs which offer few opportunities to grow and flourish and barely enough to live on at all

Working conditions are less regulated so peole may have very long days with little protection

In times of unemployment there is little or no support or opportunities for training, leaving the workers in poverty with no sense of dignity

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Ending poverty- importance to Christians

The Church teaches that Christians should pray for the poor, be charitable towards them and work for change in the world. Many Catholic Churches have charities which work to raise money to support emergency aid and development projects overseas. Money is raised through collections at church services, fetes and other fundraising activities.

Christians are bound to care for those in need out of:

Obedience to Jesus

respect for human beings

and in a response to the love of God shown to human beings through Jesus

The parable of the sheep and goats

Interpreation:

Christians have a duty to love their neighbour. This is at the heart of what it means to be Christian. Loving Christ means serving others, especially the needy

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Just war

Just war: a war that the Christian Chuch defines as acceptable: this must fit certain criteria. The idea developed by St Thomas Aquinas and the Roman Catholic Chuch.

1. War must be a last resort

2. War must be for good, and against a serious threat of evil with the goal to restore peace

3. There must be some chance of success

4. Weapons must be used proportionately- not excessively

5. Decision made by the lawful authority

Problems

How people be sure that war is absolutely necessary?

How can people be sure victory is possible?

The Bible teaches that killing is wrong

The Bible teaches respect for the sanctity of human life

The Bible teaches that poeple should be peacemakers

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Nuclear weapons

Nuclear war: a war that in which the participants use nuclear weapons

Nuclear proliferation: the increase in the number of states that have the potential to use nuclear weapons

Disarmament: when a country gets rid of its weapons

Multilateral disarmament: the view that all countries should destroy their weapons at the same time

Unilaterally disarm: when counties get rid of all their weapons without waiting for other countries to do the same

Christian teaching opposes mass destructive power and its impact on civilian populations, communities, cities and societies. It is difficult to imagine a situation when a Just War could be fought with nuclear weapons because they could never be used in a proportionate way. However some may argue that possession of the weapons prevents wars from happening.